Connolly pledges to put work ethic before skill

To better understand the rookie forward with the Tampa Bay Lightning, just listen to his take on a childhood mishap that crushed his right hand.

“I was so young I didn’t really realize the seriousness of the whole thing,” Connolly said Tuesday, chilling out with his Canadian junior teammates at the Banff Springs Hotel. “Looking back, obviously it could have hampered my career if I didn’t have my hand.”

You think?

“Looking back, I’m glad there were good surgeons on Vancouver Island, and they could repair my hand,” he said. “It was a freak accident. Thankfully, I have a hand today.”

On a warm summer day, five-year-old Connolly and his buddies decided to cool off by catapulting themselves into a lake off a metal gate. The gate — designed to prevent vehicles from approaching the water — clanked shut.

Pretty sore? He broke three bones. Surgeons reconstructed the tiny hand with the aid of pins and plates in what Connolly calls a “pretty long” medical procedure.

You might have noticed hyperbole just isn’t Connolly’s thing.

“I remember being young and very emotional,” he said. “I was just running around the ballpark looking for somebody to help me.

“Thankfully, my parents were nearby, so we went straight to the hospital and started the process.”

Looking back, Connolly remembers posing the question that mattered most

“I was asking my mom if I could play hockey in the next couple days,” he said. “Obviously I was a kid and didn’t know how serious it was.

“Thankfully, it’s all good today.”

The scars remain, but Connolly indeed played hockey again. His father, a former mill worker turned city employee, and mom, a public health nurse, moved the family north from Campbell River, B.C.

As a 16-year-old rookie with the hometown Prince George Cougars of the Western Hockey League, the curly haired Connolly scored 30 goals. That feat prompted the mayor to declare “Brett Connolly day” in Prince George and award the local phenom the keys to the city.

Heady stuff, indeed.

In hockey, Connolly excelled much like the kid with the sky-high IQ in the back of the class. On pure skill alone, he dazzled.

In his draft year, Connolly played just 16 games with the Cougars due to a hip injury suffered playing for Canada in the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament. Still, he managed 10 goals and 19 points — convincing Tampa Bay general manager Steve Yzerman to claim him in the first round (sixth overall) in the 2010 NHL entry draft.

High risk, high reward. Connolly showed up at Tampa Bay’s training camp that September, and could in no way keep up to the likes of Steven Stamkos, Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier. Clearly disturbed, Yzerman challenged Connolly on his work ethic and commitment.

He responded this summer by moving to Toronto and working out full-time with a personal trainer. Bulking his six-foot-two frame up 192 pounds, Connolly earned himself an NHL job this season at age 19. In 28 games, he has four goals and eight points.

The dreaded “work ethic” theme came up on his first day in Calgary on loan to the Team Canada for the 2012 IIHF world junior championship Dec. 26 to Jan. 5 in Edmonton and Calgary. On Day 2, head coach Don Hay called the NHLer — one of only four returning players — out for poor body language and demanded he play a physical game.

He responded by plastering Canada teammate Quinton Howden into the boards in a scrimmage. Howden is still on the mend from what is believed to be a friendly-fire concussion with the tournament set to begin Boxing Day.

Things are never boring when Connolly is around.

“The one thing that we’ve talked with Brett about is that he puts his work ethic in front of his skill level,” Hay said Tuesday. “I think that he can lead by example through his work ethic. We know he has a high skill level. He plays in Tampa Bay because of his work ethic and his determination. That’s the player we want to see — the player in Tampa Bay, not the player in Prince George.”

In Monday’s exhibition game against Finland, Connolly served notice of his sublime skill with a world-class pass to set up the first goal by Boone Jenner. In the third period, he very nearly capitalized on a highlight-reel spinarama.

“He made a heck of play there last night going in on the goal at high speed,” Hay said. “Very unlucky that he didn’t score.

“That’s his skill set. I think that work-ethic set is the most important. He wants to be a leader on this hockey club. You don’t just be a leader because you played last year. That doesn’t automatically make you a leader. Or just because you played in the NHL. It’s your actions.

And he pledged to help Canada avenge the 2011 loss to the Russians for the gold medal.

“Coming from the NHL, there are going to be eyes on me,” he said. “I have to handle myself correctly and positively.

“I’m trying to lead by example and do all the right things all the time.”

vhall@calgaryherald.com

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